MARCH 11, 2014

Webber still in paddock after F1 retirement

After more than a decade on the grid, Mark Webber will still be in the paddock this weekend as a new season of F1 begins.

But the Australian warned the sport's regulars not to expect to see his chiselled jaw too often now that he has switched to Le Mans with Porsche.

"I didn't stop (F1) to hang out at race tracks all the time," the 37-year-old told Fairfax Media.

Earlier on Tuesday, Webber touched down in Melbourne, where he will spend the weekend as a commentary guest for host broadcaster Ten.

But he insisted: "It's something I won't be doing a huge amount of, that's for sure."

For instance, Webber won't even stick around for the race, having told Ten he will leave a probably rainy Melbourne late on Saturday bound for his holiday home on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

"I don't want to be a spare part," he said. "I did my thing, mate, now I have other things to do."

According to Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, Webber quit at precisely the right moment, after even the lightest drivers like Lewis Hamilton aggressively lost weight over the winter months to prepare for the much heavier 2014 cars.

"With Sebastian (Vettel) and Daniel (Ricciardo) we will reach the (weight) limit by the skin of our teeth," Newey told the April edition of the Red Bulletin magazine.